THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 257 
plain feathers are compensated for the denial 
of personal beauty by the bestowal of the 
daintiest eggs. So the thrushes, larks, and 
finches are the most richly gifted of the feath¬ 
ered vocalists, though they are among the plain¬ 
est of the feathered tribes. But happy is their 
lot. Gaudy plumes only cover the outside, and 
often feed a strutting vanity, as in the peacock 
and turkey-cock, while song warms the heart 
of the singer and charms away the gloom of 
clouds and solitude. Vanity is earth-born; 
song is celestial. The one leads to guilt; the 
other is the sweet natural outbreathing of de¬ 
votion, the language of praise and adoration. 
“ The nightingale is one of the plainest of 
birds, but her song is so rich and spontaneous 
that her fame has been rehearsed in all climes 
where her melodies have enriched the groves 
and made them classic. It is to be regretted 
that some enthusiast has not before this domes¬ 
ticated this charming singer among our own 
gifted birds. Found in the three older conti¬ 
nents, there seems no just reason why the spe¬ 
cies should not take kindly to some sections at 
least of our wide and varied country. What 
a splendid rivalry might thus be awakened 
22 * R 
